Solution Review for Security Service Providers: WeR@Home Version 4.7.4 by Essence

Including the home hub, camera detector, siren, motion detector, door/window sensor, smart plug, Z-Wave extender and remote control, Essence WeR@Home Version 4.7.4 is a cloud-based connected home platform of home security, safety and home management capabilities. According to the supplier, WeR@Home includes a professional service level that incorporates requirements of professional installation and guarding service providers. Samples are definition of new users, technician, installers and guards. Monitoring companies can offer permanent or temporary permissions to their dealers and installers and so forth.

One special point of the professional service level of WeR@Home is to allow flexible business models for service providers by letting users to choose 24/7 monitoring service or a certain period for it. In man cases, customers need the monitoring service only when they are not at homes.

For customization, WeR@Home has Smart Rules in app settings, allowing scenario triggers when unexpected home events occurred, or personal settings with simple configuration. The entire control and monitoring can be done in the smartphone app WeR@Home Mobile, unlimited to users’ location and time zone.

Solution Application

WeR@Home is modular and expandable, which connects various devices based on the demand of end-user. Its functions can be separated into parts to pair with different price plans of the provider. For security service providers, WeR@Home can work with popular ecosystems like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT, and Z-Wave devices, making it easier to convince consumers.

Customers are kept engaged all the time with remote service support whenever help is needed. The app WeR@Home Mobile design is fully changeable. WeR@Home integration tools allow service providers to adapt the app with their preferred look, style, and feel, for both iOS and Android devices.

WeR@Home: Inside the box

Set-up & User Experience

The DIY set-up manipulation is intuitive and logical.

Though there are eight separate devices in the WeR@Home package, the clear user interface enabled us to easily pair devices together by ourselves. The Z-Wave compatible home hub has also automatically connected to most of the Z-Wave products, saving a lot of efforts in setting up the home. Only the remote control took us more time as it wasn’t paired into the system at first. In case facing any difficulty, the website manual offers clear instructions that guide you through the process. However, at this initial setup, we also found trivial flaws that the app QR code on the box wasn’t functioning.

For security service providers, late reaction might be caused by the lag of in-app video playback. And for home users, the smart plug which doesn’t show its battery consumption status might be inconvenient. In the tests, one of the Smart Rule also showed incorrect schedule time. Users need to reassure that the Smart Rules will work on the right time.

Performance in Stability & Reliability

Over a period of usage, we found the home hub connecting stably in the home network, providing an overall strong signal. This is a great benefit for security service providers, as it helps them to stay supportive to all the home users. With such stable connection, the door/window sensor performed to have rapid reactions to all commands from the home hub, which is a positive phenomenon when a home is under threat.

However, our usage also showed that those preset Smart Rules could not be edited after the setting is completed, which might cause slight inconvenience for users. If you would like to go back to the original default, the Factory Reset function doesn’t not work in all devices. In addition, the motion detector was unable to sense continuous motions.

Another good point is, the scenario setting and group control turned out to work well! The connected reaction was sharp without much time-lag. Along with the clear software control interface, group control for multiple room or various occasions of home is expected to uplift home experience.

Our Conclusion

As a package platform, it’s important and a key that WeR@Home delivers simple-to-use control interfaces in its smart app. For families having many members or holding multiple activities at home, WeR@Home provides good support for personal scene and setting.

Minor flaws like hard to install batteries can be fixed by user habit, but we believe the continuous sensing and report of motion is important to protect all entrance of home, as every security service provider set the goal to minimize damage for its users.

Still, WeR@Home has the aim to protect your home, no matter where you actually are. The service and round-the clock support have always kept the users in mind, bringing ease to home security. (More: 2018 SMAhome Award Winners Announced)

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